Content Creator Clarifies Identity of Man Who Approached Her Near Charminar, Pushes Back Against Political and Religious Color

Content creator Siddheshwari Sugandh, whose video confronting a man posing as a Rapido driver near Charminar went viral this week, has followed up with a second video clarifying the man’s identity and pushing back against attempts to give the incident a religious and political colour. In the original video, posted on August 9, Sugandh had said the man who approached her near Charminar on the night of August 8 gave his name as Irfan. In her follow-up video, she said this was not his real name. “This man had given his name as Irfan. His name is not Irfan; his name is Mirza,” Sugandh said, adding that he works as a bouncer at clubs in Hyderabad. Sugandh said the clip, which crossed 20 lakh views within 24 hours of being posted, had been dragged into a political and religious debate she never intended. “This reel is being given a political colour and religious hatred is being created. Political parties are getting involved in this video, and I don’t want that. ( Is reel ko political view diya ja raha hai and ek religious hate create kar rahe hain. Political parties ye video ke beech mein aa rahe hain, main woh cheez nahi chahti hoon ),” she said. She added that the man’s conduct, not his identity, was the point. “That man was wrong yesterday, and he is wrong today,” she said. Sugandh also addressed criticism from some quarters that she had blown up a minor incident. “Some people are also against me, saying it was such a small issue and I uploaded it,” she said, adding that the incident was not small for her. She said women face such situations regularly and most are unable to share them. She said she would do the same again if she faced disrespect in future, and that the video was meant to create awareness, not stir communal sentiment. “Because I felt this was wrong, I am posting it for awareness. Keep this in mind and use your mind so that no religious hate is spread,” she said. In her caption accompanying the video, Sugandh reiterated that the incident was never about politics or religion and was about safety alone. She said she recorded the interaction because she wanted people to understand what had happened to her, and that she did not want any political party, religious hatred or communal argument to enter the conversation. She said her message was for people to speak up, verify and stay alert if something feels wrong, and asked the public not to use her experience to spread hate against any religion, community or political party. In the original video, the man’s scooter was seen without a valid number plate, showing only the letters “TG”. When asked for his Rapido driver ID, he was seen downloading the Rapido app on his phone instead of producing identification, and later claimed the vehicle would not start. Sugandh had clarified in that video that she was not holding Rapido responsible for the incident and continued to trust the app’s safety features.